If redistricting changes feeders into Deal, will Bancroft continue its upward trajectory?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It won't happen. People move into Hardy fully expecting to pay for private schools. There is no middle class to do the dirty work and make it palatable to those people.

Nonsense. I'm one of "those people." I bought my house in 2003 when my oldest was 3, because my local elementary was unacceptable and no one in my family had ever gone to private school. I fully intended that my kids would go public through high school. This is not at all unusual, tons of kids who my kids went to elementary school with go to public middle school -- they just don't go to Hardy. A lot go to Basis or Latin. Quite a few moved to be in-boundary, either for Deal or one of the suburban jurisdictions.

+1
This "there won't be enough 'high-SES' (DCUM jargon for white by the way)" is rubbish. Stuart-Hobson and Hardy are perfect examples of middle schools that have found effective means to challenge a highly diverse student body, including my 'high-SES' kids. While test scores are not the be all and end all, they suggest that these schools are probably more effective at doing so than those that post successes solely based on who they happen to teach.
Not to mention, if I got a dollar for every 'no' I get from those over-committed and bug-eyed 'high-SES' parents asked to participate meaningfully in school matters, I'd be rich at this point.
No doubt, schools that have a significant segment of students who come from poor backgrounds are faced with added challenges, but they come with added resources and an exceptional willingness to prove the mainstream wrong.
I know it sucks to hear it when you think you've figured it all out; but it's just not that simple!

[Anonymous]

Can't Bancroft already feed to Oyster-Adams?


No. There is no school that feeds to Oyster-Adams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Can't Bancroft already feed to Oyster-Adams?

No. There is no school that feeds to Oyster-Adams.

You might be right - the Oyster-Adams option has been a de facto thing I think because O-A loses kids at higher grades and that opens spots, right?

[Anonymous]

Bancroft parent poster, do you disagree with the upward trajectory characterization?

[Anonymous]

In my experience there is a ceiling for any elementary if there is not good follow-on that's a sure thing for parents. For example, at LAMB, Stokes, etc., a lot of families peeled off at 4th and 5th grades in order to get into Oyster, Latin, Bancroft or Shepherd or Murch (feeding to Deal), and now Basis for middle school. These were usually the higher SES families, which in turn made the test scores not quite as high as they otherwise would have been in the 4th and 5th grades at LAMB and Stokes etc. These lower scores in turn make people scared to commit. The only thing that can break that cycle is to have a sure thing available for middle school that's decent. Some people will peel off regardless, wanting something different for their kids, but it won't be out of fear so much as just wanting a different approach. So now that DCI will be available in a year or two you already have parents willing to wait and see rather than peel off early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Can't Bancroft already feed to Oyster-Adams?

No. There is no school that feeds to Oyster-Adams.

You might be right - the Oyster-Adams option has been a de facto thing I think because O-A loses kids at higher grades and that opens spots, right?

There are more available spots in O-A’s middle school, but those spots are not exclusively taken by Bancroft students. Students move to O-A from Marie Reed (which is geographically closer to O-A), LAMB, Stokes and Bancroft. However, in order to be admitted, those students must be at grade level in both English and Spanish. That’s why there are far more Hispanic students in O-A’s upper grades, compared to the primary school. There are not many kids who come from English-dominant homes that would be able to perform at grade-level in both languages in middle school. That being said, I have heard several O-A teachers say that the students that transfer in from the aforementioned schools are generally not as well-prepared as the home-grown O-A students. Other than SES, I’m not sure why that is the case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Can't Bancroft already feed to Oyster-Adams?

No. There is no school that feeds to Oyster-Adams.

You might be right - the Oyster-Adams option has been a de facto thing I think because O-A loses kids at higher grades and that opens spots, right?

There are more available spots in O-A’s middle school, but those spots are not exclusively taken by Bancroft students. Students move to O-A from Marie Reed (which is geographically closer to O-A), LAMB, Stokes and Bancroft. However, in order to be admitted, those students must be at grade level in both English and Spanish. That’s why there are far more Hispanic students in O-A’s upper grades, compared to the primary school. There are not many kids who come from English-dominant homes that would be able to perform at grade-level in both languages in middle school. That being said, I have heard several O-A teachers say that the students that transfer in from the aforementioned schools are generally not as well-prepared as the home-grown O-A students. Other than SES, I’m not sure why that is the case.

Here's a thought experiment. You get a kid from the highest SES imaginable and place him/ her in an empty room for five years. You also get a kid from the lowest SES imaginable and place him/ her in the best school in town for the same five years.

Which one is likely to be performing better academically after said five years?

SES influences education, but not to the degree you seem to assume. There are many other reasons why students at one school underperform students at another school.

[Anonymous]

There are more available spots in O-A’s middle school, but those spots are not exclusively taken by Bancroft students. Students move to O-A from Marie Reed (which is geographically closer to O-A), LAMB, Stokes and Bancroft. However, in order to be admitted, those students must be at grade level in both English and Spanish. That’s why there are far more Hispanic students in O-A’s upper grades, compared to the primary school. There are not many kids who come from English-dominant homes that would be able to perform at grade-level in both languages in middle school. That being said, I have heard several O-A teachers say that the students that transfer in from the aforementioned schools are generally not as well-prepared as the home-grown O-A students. Other than SES, I’m not sure why that is the case.

Here's a thought experiment. You get a kid from the highest SES imaginable and place him/ her in an empty room for five years. You also get a kid from the lowest SES imaginable and place him/ her in the best school in town for the same five years.

Which one is likely to be performing better academically after said five years?

SES influences education, but not to the degree you seem to assume. There are many other reasons why students at one school underperform students at another school.



So, what do you think are those "many" reasons? Please enlighten me.

[Anonymous]

I saw that movie! Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, two mean old guys...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Here's a thought experiment. You get a kid from the highest SES imaginable and place him/ her in an empty room for five years. You also get a kid from the lowest SES imaginable and place him/ her in the best school in town for the same five years.

Which one is likely to be performing better academically after said five years?

SES influences education, but not to the degree you seem to assume. There are many other reasons why students at one school underperform students at another school.

The one from the highest SES - they will figure out how to make the empty room the most interesting environment for learning b/c they are not hungry, they have enrichment, they have appropriate medical and dental care - and even thought the room is empty they will be there every day.

[Anonymous]

So I used to agree that SES should not/could not play a large role in academic performance. This year I am teaching at a sought after DCPS school in Capital Hill. For all of our tests we have to aggregate our data and isolate the FARM kids. And guess what- in each class, the FARM kids averages are between 15-25% lower than the rest of the class. Note, this kids have been going to the same school as their non FARM peers.
You cannot underestimate the role that social and economic advantages play in a students academic achievement.

[Anonymous]

Doubt it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The one from the highest SES - they will figure out how to make the empty room the most interesting environment for learning b/c they are not hungry, they have enrichment, they have appropriate medical and dental care - and even thought the room is empty they will be there every day.

I'd accept "The one from the highest SES - after one day of that bull**** their parent pulls them out and puts them in a good private school."

But give me a break. I'm a bleeding-heart liberal from Massachusetts but you're full of liberal apologist claptrap.

[Anonymous]

Bancroft only began to attract higher SES families when they saw that was a way to feed to Deal. Maybe they can mobilize together to some other school now since they are there. But Deal is the only reason they came.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bancroft only began to attract higher SES families when they saw that was a way to feed to Deal. Maybe they can mobilize together to some other school now since they are there. But Deal is the only reason they came.

I would be interested in knowing if this was true. I don't believe it to be honest. Did white and upper class parents come to Bancroft only when they saw it fed to Deal? Can anyone speak to when and why upper class families began to go to Bancroft?